Seasonal Octopus Salad-Topped Cod Burger from MOS Burger in Taiwan

Today's AHT reader-recommended burger comes from Nicholas Chen (aka myinnerfatty on Serious Eats/AHT), who's spending his summer eating his heart out in Taipei, Taiwan, and writing about it on his blog, My Inner Fatty. His burger rec isn't really for a burger, but a fried fish sandwich—does that fit on AHT? While in most cases I'd say no, the last time we featured a review on MOS Burger, the regular burger was given the thumbs down. Although a cod burger isn't a replacement for a hamburger, when at MOS Burger it sounds like a way better choice.

MOS Burger

Various locations; mos.com.tw (MOS Burger is Japan-based, but this burger seems to only be offered in Taiwan)Cooking Method: FriedShort Order: A fried cod patty smothered in sauce to die forWant fries with that? Fries are similar in thickness as well as consistency to McDonald's fries, a decent addition to any mealPrice: Seasonal Cod Burger, 75 NT (~$2.25)

Considering how successful last summer's octopus burger was for MOS Burger, I had high hopes for their seasonal offering this year, named the 冰鱈樂活鱈魚堡, shortened effectively as cod burger. It looks like a modified McDonald's Filet-o-Fish: a plain, lightly toasted hamburger bun sandwiching a single slice of American cheese, a fried cod patty coated in sauce, lettuce, and a mayo based "octopus tentacle salad."

Despite the eclectic mish-mash choice of ingredients, everything comes together rather swimmingly. The plain bun does its job by not detracting from the other flavors, and the cheese adds an appropriate amount of textural contrast. The patty is adequately crispy (although it could benefit from additional frying), and doesn't have that characteristic processed feel, but the sauce is truly the highlight. Something akin to a mix of teriyaki and sweet and sour sauce, it's subtle in flavor and light in texture, and adds to the fish without masking it entirely.

Last, but not least, is the octopus mayo mixture. I didn't find many, if any, chunks of tentacles in my burger (unlike in this official product photo), but it didn't bother me too much. Kewpie mayo is more than capable in bringing the sandwich together as a final component. While the cod burger isn't quite as exotic with the absence of octopus as a key ingredient, it's certainly a burger worth trying. —myinnerfatty